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Sharp Delighted With Performance As County Chalk Up First WinSunday, May 20th, 2018

Kevin Sharp was “delighted” for Worcestershire to secure their first win of the season and believes they are a “formidable outfit” in white ball cricket.

The Rapids defeated Derbyshire Falcons by 50 runs in the opening Royal London Cup One-Day Cup group match at Blackfinch New Road.

It was a case of continuing where they left off for the Rapids after topping the North Group in 2017 to seal a semi-final spot.

Half centuries from Tom Fell, Ben Cox and Ross Whiteley, who confirmed his reputation as a devastating hitter, helped Worcestershire to 323-6 and they then bowled out the Falcons for 273.

Head Coach Sharp said: “The lads have played very well and I’m delighted with that after a sticky start to the season and for us to get our first win on the board, I’m really delighted.

“I thought we played with great calmness throughout our innings because it was a slowish pitch and it is very easy in one-day cricket to think you are not scoring quickly enough.

“But the innings from Felly (Tom Fell) and Dolly (Brett D’Oliveira) were very calm and kept a huge perspective on things and it allowed us to have some wickets left at the end for the lads like Coxy (Ben Cox) and Ross (Whiteley) to come in at an ideal time.

“Ross, when he is in that form, is unstoppable really and he hits the ball very hard and a long way.

“He likes to have a couple of overs to get himself in, score some singles, pick up the pace and the lines and, when it is his day, which is quite often the case in one-ball cricket, there is no-one more dangerous.

“Then in the field, it was a brilliant effort. I thought the ground fielding was superb and there was lots of energy and they got their rewards for that.”

Sharp added: “Our performances of late in white ball cricket have been pretty good. We got to the One-Day Cup semi-final last year and, although we struggled a bit in the T20, in previous years we have got to quarter-finals.

“From a white ball perspective, we’ve got quite a lot of strength in depth and I think we are a formidable outfit in this form of the game.”

The Rapids face away clashes with Yorkshire Vikings (Wednesday) and Durham Jets (Friday) before returning home to face Lancashire Lightning next Sunday.

Sharp said: “We will let the lads have a day off or so and then we will practice and get off to Headingley and straight onto Durham and then it’s Lancashire here on the Sunday.

“That is what the cricket season is in England. You don’t stop really.

“I’ve not know anything different since I was a 16-year-old. It is what it is.

“You get used to that and you’ve just got to make sure you manage the workloads right of the lads and you give them enough time off to recover. That is equally important as practicing and playing.”